Thursday, 29 September 2011

I've been busy sorting out the scrap paper mountain and found a lot of Christmas scraps from the last few years. I cannot throw away paper no matter how much I try to tidy up it is just such a waste. These 4 little cards are all made with old and new papers combined. I also used loads of kraft scraps, I have been stamping Christmas sentiments on little pieces and putting them to one side.

I used Waltzingmouse Around Christmas time set,( I so want to buy the new releases but have no funds this month, sob, sob!) and the sentiments are from Compliments of the Season I love the traditional look of these.

I inked all of the edges with my trusty chalk ink which is sadly on it's last legs, I don't think you can buy them separately anymore. I'll have to replace this very soon.

I've been trying to keep my cards as thin as possible to keep the postage cost down but I think the bows will make these the more expensive option. Never mind.

Monday, 26 September 2011

Ever bought a stamp and afterwards thought it was a mistake buy? This card is made with one of those stamps, I bought this Wreath of Leaves stamp last year but no matter how many times I ink it I'm never satisfied with how it looks. I have used it to make a Christmas card but I wonder if it might look better with flowers on it for a different occasion, I need to practice with it a bit more I think.

I used two different shades of green for the wreath and then added some red pearls to give it a festive feel. I am running very low on white card stock so I have been trying to use up some of my coloured stock and I do like the olive green for this card, especially teamed with the deep red layer. I finished off with some lovely olive green organza (I love this green for christmas projects) which comes in the green Pretty Little Ribbon Pack from thePretty Little Ribbon Shop.

Sunday, 25 September 2011

I do love a sketch when making cards and this month at Bunny Zoe's Crafts challenge there is a fabulous sketch to follow. I have been making a few cards to send off to a hospice charity so I am trying to make a nice variety of different occasions and this one is another to pop in the box ready for posting.

The Papers are new from Prima - Pixie Glen collection, they are so pretty and really good value for money. The Tilda is an image I have had in my craft drawer for years (I'm trying to use up old stash!)and I have distressed the edges lots and stained with brown ink before going bonkers with glitter (unfortunately the photo doesn't really show this up) on all the distressed edges, the butterflies and Tilda's sweet little flowers in her hair.

Saturday, 24 September 2011

Wow What a fabulous effort made by all the Limettes with last weeks challenge, far too many cards for me to comment on but there were some fabulous entries. And I think Chrissie and Mandi deserve a huge pat on the back for managing to look at all the entries and comment on hundreds.

This week the Less is More challenge is a sketch and another chance for me to get ahead with the family Christmas card list. This simple card is for my Daughter to give to my Nephew, I find making male cards difficult so usually keep them quite simple.

I used a red card blank which is quite unusual (I mainly use white) and a Stampin' Up set (sorry I can't remember the name of it!) and finished with some MM alphabet stickers. Very quick and simple and another card crossed off the list!

Thursday, 22 September 2011

I thought I would try and boost numbers at the Less is More challenge this week as the Limettes are trying to hit 1000 entries. So here is a quick card I made this evening using the Waltzingmouse stamp set Festive Foilage, another set with endless possibilities. Very simple with a great little sentiment included in the set.

Wednesday, 21 September 2011

Another Christmas card for you today, at this rate I will have my list of handmade cards finished in no time! this one uses my favourite Christmas colours - green, red and kraft.

I have used a mixture of old and new papers on this one, and a couple of snippets too. The new papers are from MME - Lost & Found Christmas (gorgeous traditional colours) and a scrap of Mellissa Frances paper that I have had years. The wreath is made with a stamp from Waltzingmouse Around Christmas time set. It's a single branch that I stamped into a wreath and then added some red pearls for the berries. I finished off with a lovely strip of Moss Green satin ribbon from the Pretty Little Ribbon Shop I think this green is the perfect colour for Christmas cards and presents.

Saturday, 17 September 2011

Unfortunately Christmases where my children believe are sadly long gone as both of my girls are now grown up, but remembering the joy in their faces when they came downstairs and saw the half eaten mince pie and nibbled carrot (well you can't leave Rudolf out can you?) they had left out for Santa is still a treasured memory. Nowdays it's all about the excess of Christmas everywhere, presents aren't worth having unless they begin with the letter 'i' (iphone, ipad, ipod etc) if you'd told me when I was a teenager that in years to come everyone would carry mobile phones and there would be the internet I think I'd have thought you were a complete loon.

I'm waffling!!! Ok so today's card is for the Less is More challenge this week, Chrissie and Mandi have asked the Limettes to try and reach 1000 entries to celebrate 1000 followers. So the theme is Anything CAS Goes which is a nice easy one. I thoughtI would go for something I am comfortable with like ribbon and flowers but this morning I ended up doing a one layer card (by choice? it's unheard of) with a stamp I had on my desk from yesterday's cardmaking session.

I stamped Santa directly onto the card blank and just very lightly watercoloured his face and the holly in his hat and then used stickles glue on his hat and beard, you can't really see how it sparkles in the photo. Finished off with this Believe stamp from PTI which I thought went well with Santa. I really like the simplicity of this card and I am thinking I might mass produce it for my Christmas card design this year.

Friday, 16 September 2011

My list of Christmas cards to make is slowly getting smaller thanks to all the challenges I have been entering lately. Today's make is another one off the list, a quick little card using a stamp I had forgotten I have. I found it in the bottom of a basket of stamps and thought it was about time it saw some ink again. I started by using black ink but it looked to severe so I used brown instead and I am much happier with the result. I then used watercolours to very lightly colour Santa's face and the holly on his hat. Lastly I just added lots of Stickles glitter to his hat and beard.

I like this paper I found in my paper rack, it's by MME. Finished off with some bakers twine from the Pretty Little Ribbon Shopand a little bell (my favourite Christmas embellishment). A really quick card!

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Gosh two pink cards in a row!!! This card is totally out of my comfort zone, I 've had a few Tilda stamped images in my craft desk forever but have never used them before, and as I don't really do coloured images they have just sat there so I thought it was time to try something different.

I would love to know how to use copics, I don't actually own any (I can hear you all gasping in disbelief) but I am thinking of buying some to try them out. I would need to go to a few classes somewhere to learn about them. Unfortunately there are no craft shops anywhere in my town and I wouldn't have a clue where to start. Perhaps I will find some decent tutorials on Utube.

So this little Tilda was coloured with a few promarkers (I won 10 markers years ago and have to say they are still as good as new) and I watercoloured her face as I didn't have any suitable skintone colours. Her wings are just decorated with some stickles glitter. Cutting her out was quite tricky I definitely need more practice.

I used another of my new circle stamps, this one has such a sweet little sentiment on it. I finished off with organza ribbon, a couple of die cut swirls, hydranga flower and a couple of pretty heart pins.

Monday, 12 September 2011

A Christmas card for a little girl just has to be pink don't you think? This card was made for my next door neighbours grandaughter, she spends a lot of time chatting away to us all, I think she can manage to get our life history in about 10 minutes! Each year I like to get her a special little gift at Christmas and make her a card, hence this pink one.

I did enjoy making this even though it's not really my usual style. I have been using this snowman stamp quite a lot lately, I paper pieced the scarf as my colouring skills are poor, I can just about manage the carrot nose!
The papers are a mixture I sorted out my box of 6x6 paper pads the other day and found a few old sheets that I threw in my scraps box. I used two on this card with lots of little scraps of pink papers too. More scraps of white card for the sentiment stamp (another favourite at the moment - you can find the full range HERE) and I finished off with some glitter card swirls.

Saturday, 10 September 2011

I can't believe that Saturday has come around so quickly. I don't seem to have got any of my list of jobs done this week. Oh well first on the list every Saturday for me now is the Less is More challenge. After making my cup of tea I go straight to the laptop to see what's install for us each week.

This week Chrissie and Mandi have chosen Seeing Double as the theme and it's the dreaded one layer week!! Eeekk!! I got a bit frazzled as I didn't think I had any suitable stamps for this one then eventually after inking up half a dozen stamps (which I have to clean up in a minute!!!) I decided that I would use this Hero Arts stamp 'Wild Flowers' and team it with a little butterfly stamped twice from Hero Arts 'Antique Engravings' set. I watercoloured the butterflies in a turquoise colour very gently and added some irridescent stickles to the wings to add a bit of interest. Finished off with a little scrap of sheer polka dot ribbon from the Pretty Little Ribbon Shop.

Friday, 9 September 2011

My favourite time of the year has to be Halloween, I know it's not a big thing in this country but I still love to carve the pumpkins and decorate the door ready for all the trick or treaters. We try to do different pumpkins designs each year, I haven't decided on this years yet but here's a photo of last years for you. My daughter did the haunted house - pretty good eh?

I also try to make little treat packs up for the kiddies every year, I've already started on these little bags but need to make a lot more! Aren't they cute? We have just got some new stamps in the shop and this one is perfect for them, and of course I couldn't resist tying some little bows on too! I will only put bows on the girls ones though. I've just bought the die to make this little bag up, I think it would be good for wedding favours too if made with lovely pearlescent card and organza ribbon.

Thursday, 8 September 2011

We tend to receive a lot of Christmas cards with the word 'Noel' on every year, due to the fact that is it also my husband's name, so generally I tend to avoid making similar cards. I do have this one stamp which I rarely use so thought I would ink it up for a change.

I used a lot of card scraps as I decorated the inside of the card as well, I cannot remember who makes the paper but I did manage to use up every last snippet of it. I tied a charm on using some bakers twine (I like using this on Christmas cards).

Inside I continued and used one of my new stamps from here I enjoyed decorating the inside of the card but have to say the finished card does feel quite heavy! And why stop at inside? I even added a bit of decoration to the back using another new stamp.

Wednesday, 7 September 2011

Yesterday I had a hospital appointment in London, so off we went bright and early very organised with a google map printed off and our Underground route sorted out. We arrived in London in plenty of time for my appointment and got the tube to Regents Park. I then gave the google map to my husband ready for the '10 minute' walk to the hospital. BIG MISTAKE !!!!! We started off ok but seemed to be walking for quite a while and no sign of the hospital. I started to worry when we arrived at the next tube station which was way past where we were going. When I asked to look at the map I could see we had walked past the turning for the hospital a while ago so we had to rush back to try and get to the hospital on time. By the time we got there I was drenched, and my hair was wild from the wind and rain! Not a good look I can assure you.

Anyway back to today's card. Roses seem to be my favourite crafting item at the moment. I bought the Marianne D roses dies recently, it took me a while to get the hang of making them and I still need to practice more. The great thing about these dies is that you can use up so many scraps with them. Whenever I run some dies through my Grand Calibur I try to put a couple of roses through at the same time so I have always got a good stock of them.

This little card has a few roses on it but is pretty simple in design. I decided to use the sentiment as the main focus and decorate around it with the flowers, leaves and a few pearls.

Monday, 5 September 2011

Today we launch our second challenge over on the Pretty Little Ribbon Shop blog. It's my lovely team mate Mina's turn to choose this month and she came up with one of my favourites - MONOCHROME.

I decided on White for my colour and made a little gift set trio.

I really enjoyed making these, I bought this embossing folder recently and I just love it especailly teamed with the little pearls ( I get through packets and packets of them!!). I actually had this pattern on my wedding dress bodice with little individual pearls sewn on over 22 years ago, maybe that's why I like the folder so much.

I altered the gift bag first, I made the roses using my Rose Creations Spellbinders dies (another favourite) and then added the little butterfly for interest and finished off with a hat pin and lots of white seam binding and a little organza bow tied onto the handle.

Next I made a matching tag with a few offcuts, a small butterfly and more white seam binding.

Lastly the card, I cut out the circle with a nestie die and then mounted the card on foam pads to give a bit of dimension and added a couple of butterflies and another rose but no ribbon or seam binding as I though it would have been a bit too much.

I hope you will come and join us for the challenge there is a lovely prize of pretty ribbons and other goodies on offer.

You can find the challenge and the other design team members creations HERE

Sunday, 4 September 2011

I am still making Christmas cards with my favourite colours, today's card is made with green and kraft. I bought these new papers 'Lost & Found Christmas' by MME and they are just gorgeous!

Todays card is for Winter Wonderland challenge - Special Friends and Charisma Cardz - Anything goes. I used my favourite Seasons of Love stamp set from Waltzingmouse and a new coloured embossing powder from WOW which I really love it's Olive coloured and I think it is perfect for Christmas. I tied on a little recycled bell (from a Lindt chocolate reindeer - YUM!) using moss green seam binding and finished off with some little alphabet stickers.

Saturday, 3 September 2011

A quick card from me as I am feeling a bit under the weather this morning. Less is More's challenge this week is Metallic, I rarely use anything metallic on my cards apart from the odd charm or bell.

I kept this card simple and used a flourish, some bling and a sentiment from Waltzingmouse. I suppose silver embossing is a bit predictable so if I have time in the week I may try and make a second card stretching my imagination a bit more! Ribbon didn't work anywhere on this card - sob, sob!
Photos are completely pants I 'm afraid, I really must invest in one of those photo booth thingies!